Of Chaos: The Philosopher's Stone
by The Writers Clique
Summary: It Began with one mother trying to protect her child and one mother who didn't quite understand her child. It Began on that Halloween night. It began with a child with a destiny. It Began with Harry Potter, rightfully know as Harry Cullens. AU.
1. Of Night

Halloween, 1997

Gordric's Hallow

"Lily Run!" James yelled out to his wife, who was standing terrified in the kitchen as he rushed to the door. "He's here. You and Harry get to safety while I try to hold him off!"

Lily stood there in shock, unable to move her legs. She had known that it would come to this at some point, but she was still scared shitless. She had prepared for this. James yelled out her name again and Lily sprang into action at once. Scooping up Harry in her arms she rushed out of the kitchen and rushed to the back door. Despite her best efforts, she found that she couldn't budge the door at all. Frantically she ran over to the window and tried to burst it open. She reached into her back pocket to find that her wand wasn't there. Realization hit her…

_Voldemort had them trapped like rats in their own home_

Lily, with no other choice, dashed up the stairs holding a crying Harry tightly to her chest. She flinched at the sound of things breaking in her living room, which she knew was a direct result of the battle raging between her husband and Voldemort. She rushed into Harry's nursery and placed the crying child in his crib and began trying to barricade the door, though she knew that it wouldn't help anything. Harry began growing red from crying. Lily picked him up and cradled him against herself again. She needed to make him stop crying.

She began singing an old Fae song, the same that she heard in her dreams every night. She had never repeated the song to a living soul, but she thought that it was only appropriate now.

_Lay down  
Your sweet and weary head  
Night is falling  
You've come to journey's end _

_Sleep now  
Dream -- of the ones who came before  
They are calling  
From across a distant shore _

_Why do you weep?  
What are these tears upon your face?  
Soon you will see  
All of your fears will pass away _

_Safe in my arms  
You're only sleeping _

_What can you see  
On the horizon?  
Why do the white gulls call? _

_Across the sea  
A pale moon rises  
The ships have come  
To carry you home _

_Dawn will turn to silver glass  
A light on the water  
All souls pass_

_Hope fades  
Into the world of night  
Through shadows falling  
Out of memory and time _

_Don't say  
We have come now to the end  
White shores are calling  
You and I will meet again _

_And you'll be here in my arms  
Just sleeping _

_What can you see  
On the horizon?  
Why do the white gulls call? _

_Across the sea  
A pale moon rises  
The ships have come  
To carry you home _

_And all will turn to silver glass  
A light on the water  
Grey ships pass  
Into the West _

Lily knew that now was her time. She was going to leave her child on this plane of existence. Tears fell from her eyes as she came to the harsh reality. Hearing the fighting stopping downstairs only seemed to reinforce the truth. Suddenly the door to Harry's bedroom burst open and in the door way stood Voldemort. Lily screamed not in terror, but it defiance.

"You can't have him you bastard." she screamed at the figured in the door way.

Voldemort laughed and stepped over the threshold of the nursery. "There is no need for you to perish Lily, just hand over the boy."

Lily refused, her mind now rushing. It was now or never. After placing Harry in his crib, she threw herself in front of him and begun to chant in the Fae language.

"Cormamin lindua ele lle Mela en' coiamin, Harry James Potter! Yaaraerea Tessa sina Poikaer ten' amin. Aman tel' Seldarine Vara tel' Seldarine," she said, gaining volume by each syllable.

"Stand aside you silly girl!" Voldemort commanded, aiming his wand at her heart.

Lily continued her chant and by now she was yelling. "Vara tel' taurninin, Entula en'templa of Goth Amin, Naar cam against Goth Amin , Lietha guldur of Goth Amin, Vara tel' Seldarine lye!"

Just as the last word escaped her lips, Voldemort bellowed out the killing curse and Lily Rose Evans-Potter was no more.

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Voldemort stepped over the deceased witch as if she were simply another ornament in the room. The child inside the crib looked up at him, crying angrily, as if he realized that he was the why he was parentless. The Dark Lord raised his wand and placed it to the baby's forehead.

"Never will you rise; you shall never defeat the Dark Lord. This is your end, Harry Potter." Then he bellowed out the killing curse for the entire world to hear.

The result was not what he expected.

Suddenly, a light filled the room and three figures entered. Voldemort found he was unable to move, and it was not because he was paralyzed with fear. Some magical force was leaving him incapable of motion. Two of them went over to the dead girl and lifted her, taking her into the light. The other came before him.

"Tom Marvolo Riddle, you have committed a heinous crime against the Fae. Thus, you shall receive the most agonizing of torments." The figure plunged his hand through Voldemort's chest before he realized what was happening. "May you soul suffer for your actions."

The Dark Lord felt a pain like no other as his soul was ripped from his body. He found him self outside of his physical form and he watched as the mysterious entity that had plunged his soul from his body reduced his physical form, which still wore a face of agony, to ashes. He then turned to the banished soul and began to chant much like that silly mudblood girl had.

_What is this?_

Suddenly the entire home filled with what the spirit of the Dark Lord could only call heavy Light magic. The spirit escaped in its weakened state, unable to stand the good in the home.

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Apollo almost never drifted down from Mount Olympus.

Once regarded as a god in ignorance, He never felt the need to. While he was no god, he was a high Fae and was generally regarded by all humans as something to be revered. Yet, He had not been called upon for centuries. So when he had received a stray, disregarded call of distress, he found himself with no other choice but to answer. After all it was from another Fae, albeit it was half-Fae sending the appeal for assistance, and it was the duty of any Fae that if they were called upon by their kin to answer.

He rushed with his servants to the source of the cry when he had discovered that Indilwen Nithronea had sent it. He had known her personally at sometime, during his tryst on earth. She had not known that she was of the Fae and had fallen deeply in love with a human boy. Apollo had been pursuing her in order to make a child. She was powerful and Beautiful, quite a combination amongst the Fae, where there was often one or the other. She refused him and even went so far to make him swear an oath.

She would join him only if she was in her darkest hour and he assisted her where no one else could. Apollo, feeling something for her that he had never felt for any female, human or Fae, agreed to the arrangement.

The day had never come when she called upon him until now.

When he arrived at the source of the beckoning, it was clear that he was almost too late to assist anyone. Indilwen stood chanting in Elvish a protection spell for…_her child_? It was not the time to be jealous of the human man now. Apollo quickly erected a shield upon both Indilwen and the child. The dark one that stood before them bellowed out the spell of instant death that struck Indilwen in her chest, killing her witch essence instantly.

The elf with in her remained. He stepped over the deceivingly 'dead' body and approached the child. The dark one said the same spell that he had used on Indilwen but it not only hit Apollo's shield but also the protective spell that Indilwen had just cast on her offspring and bounced back on to him.

That's when Apollo stepped in. The backfiring spell was beginning to take affect on the Dark entity's body and Apollo helped it along by banishing the soul from its body. Then he reduced the body to nothingness and purified the house, make the spirit shy away from not just the house, but anywhere where light magic resided.

When it had left and Indilwen had been taken back to Olympus, Apollo approached the crib. In it sat what was undoubtedly Indilwen's bawling offspring. He could tell from the color of the eyes, if not the way they slanted slightly that he carried some of his mother's Fae lineage. Blood was running down the side of the child's face, and Apollo knew that that was where the instant death spell had struck him.

Apollo could not bring him back to Olympus, because of the wizard side of him that he possessed, but he could offer protection to the child in the form of Fae magic. But he had to do it quickly, before any wizards arrived, as they undoubtedly would. He picked up the child and held him in his arms. Cutting the pad of his thumb with his incisor, he pressed it to the wound on the child's forehead. He began to chant in Elvish a bonding spell. It would infuse the child with some of his own Fae ability, enforce his mothers and combat the darkness that was indisputably with in him from the Dark ones infliction.

When he had finished his spell, the baby's forehead had healed completely over and all that was left as a sign that anything had physically happened to the young one was in the shape lightening bolt scar that he would carry for the rest of his life. He placed the now calm child back with in its crib and didn't give it a second look as he called upon a Fae girl. He ordered her to assume the appearance of Indilwen and he just as swiftly killed the invaluable Fae, casting a spell so that the magic held and none would be the wiser that it wasn't really "Lily" that lay dead in the nursery, but some unimportant "Elf" as they were generally called amongst the wizards and mortals alike. He left the nursery swiftly, insuring that none would know that he had been there, letting what would unfold, unfold.

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Severus Snape arrived on the threshold of the Potter's home. He knew that something had disturbed the home just by looking at it. The wards had dropped and the house was on fire. He walked into the home and immediately came upon the corpse of James Potter. The dead man lay staring blankly at the ceiling. Snape had to avert his eyes from his fallen enemy. While he had never liked James, he would never truly wish Death on anyone. Both men had recently come to a truce, but that didn't change either man's opinion of the other, nor did it alter how they felt for one another.

That's what hit Severus. _If Potter is dead…Lily!_

There would have been no way that she could escape, because the Dark Lord, Voldemort, himself had been there. He was the only one other than Albus Dumbledore and a few others that could best James Potter in dueling. Severus' eyes fell on the stair case and he ran up the stairs, dodging the roaring inferno within the home. He burst into each room in the small house, finding nothing, before he came to the end of the hallway where Harry's nursery was located. He dreaded what he would find on the other side of the closed door. He opened it and immediately his eyes fell upon the body of Lily Evans-Potter lying face down. He ran to her, hoping she wasn't dead, but knowing it was so. He turned her over and barely managed to hold back a gasp. It wasn't her.

He was one of the only people besides her best friend and her husband who had known about her being of the Fae. And one thing that he knew about Fae magic was that it didn't affect the eyes, where it was believed that all the truth in a being was held.

Whoever this was, she had bluish-green eyes, and that was what gave her away. It was no doubt the plot of Apollo, whom Severus had only heard of once from Lily. Severus knew what he had to do. Pulling out his wand, he altered the eye color so that it would appear as the same sort of green that Lily's was. No one could know that Lily wasn't dead, or he would be on the receiving end of Apollo's wrath. There was a reason for everything. Then he put his memory of what he had just done in the same place where his knowledge of Lily's Fae side was, locked away.

Then he placed the Lily copy down on the ground and begun to prepare himself to find Harry James Potter lying dead in his crib. He almost cried out when he discovered the rise and fall of the child's chest. To make sure it wasn't an illusion or a trick of his mind, he performed a simple vitals scan on the child. He was indeed alive.

And seemingly unscathed, that is, except for a lightening bolt scar on the right side of his forehead, above his eyebrow. He traced it lightly. How was it that the child had survived the Dark Lord's wrath? Surely there was no magic, not even Fae magic that stopped the killing curse when it had chosen its victim, especially not that of Dark Lord's?

Somehow, it had happened though, leaving the child with a reminder of what had happened. Severus was instantly sure that this was a magic scar that would never disappear, even if heal with magic.

Severus suddenly heard the roaring of a motorbike and picked up Harry from the crib, careful not to wake him, and wrapped his blanket around him. He rushed down the stairs and was greeted by the sight of a shellshock Sirius Black, staring tearfully at the body of his best friend. Snape was many things, but he was not foolish. Saying anything to the distraught man would only serve to get himself killed or Harry harmed in a barrage of insanity. Suddenly the man spoke.

"Lily…" he said, as if asking for a confirmation to what he already knew.

"She's dead Black," Severus lied so smoothly that it was like it was the actual truth, "You're too late to save them."

Severus seriously doubted of Black even realized that he was holding his godson in his arms as the man cried out in agony. When Severus confirmed Lily's death, Black had obviously jumped to the assumption that Harry was dead as well. After all, the man hadn't even look at him once.

"Black, Shush!" Severus exclaimed in a whisper.

Black looked up murderously at him before he realized that he was holding Harry in his arms.

"Is he –" said Black hoarsely. Severus need not responed as Harry stirred slightly in his blanket. He fully expected Black to take the child from his arms but he did the opposite. His eyes became like steel and he didn't even reach out to the child.

"Take my bike, Snape, and get Harry to Dumbledore," he said, his voice dropping dangerously, "I have a rat to kill."

"Black, I've no need of your bike." Severus replied flatly, but stopped himself from saying more. Black nodded without looking at him and made for the door. Despite himself, Severus found him self calling out to Black.

"Black,"

Black spun to face him and locked eyes with him.

"Don't do anything that you'll regret."

Black nodded, but said nothing and walked the rest of the way out the door leaving Severus, who he trusted less than anyone at one point, to his mission.

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Author's Notes:

Hey reading people. I Know that you all noticed how I not only abandoned my previous stories, but completely deleted them. I also know that I peeved some of you off a bit. But I have a reason for everything that I do. And here's the reason: I grew bored. I was simply very bored with those stories. First of all, they were not realistic. They were also very juvenile and were not well put together.

They were mostly composed of stray and, often, broken ideas. I felt no need to complete them. However I plan to finish this one. I do require the assistance of my readers, however. I need you guys to push me to finish this thing. I often try to do more than I'm capable of. REVIEW! That is a really big thing for me. Sometimes I get writer's block and simply need a fresh idea from a reader. This is actually a better put together version of yet another story that I started, but found no reason to continue. Expect another chapter out of me this week. Oh, and people, I accept FLAMES, too. It's still a review. But please give constructive criticism. If my story sucks in you opinion, then tell me why and offer a solution.

Here's the translation for the Fae Protection spell that Lily said:

"My heart sings to thee Love of my life, Harry James Potter! Ancient Ones Hold onto this Precious One for me. Bless Protection, Arch Protection, Magic Reflection of My Foe, Burning Hands against my Foe, Dispel magic of My Foe. Protect Ours."

Both the Elvin Spell and the translation were from this site:

basically put together different words to make the spell and I pledge no affiliation to the site and am simply borrowing their information.

Lily's song was derived from Lord of the rings and is called "_Into the West". _I got the lyrics from this site: Also I got Lily's name translation into Elvish from the same site.

That's all for now.

REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW!


	2. Of Past

November 8, 1997

4 Private Drive, Surrey England

When Petunia Dursley discovered her nephew on her front doorstep the morning after Halloween, there were a list of things she could have done and said, but deciding to give the child up for adoption was easily the smartest thing she did. It was better than allowing the child to remain in her home and taint her precious Dudders. It was better than spending good money on the frogspawn of her wretched, _abnormal_ sister. The same sister who had managed to go and get herself blown up by one of her own kind.

The services had come to pick up the child and Petunia was able to pretend that the child had never existed. However somewhere, in the back of her mind, Petunia Dursley knew that it was come back to haunt her. Her actions, that is.

"Never mind that Dumbledore; My _Family _comes before any filthy wizard." she said as she pounded the dough for her homemade bread for the cooking contest.

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June 18, 2007

Milton Primary School, Cambridge, England

Harry Cullens sat in the back of Mr. Cattermole's class, fidgeting in his seat. Luckily, he wasn't the only one…at least not _today_. It was the last day of school and, in true Milton Primary style; they had to sit in class and work. Harry wasn't like the other children and didn't mind doing class work in the least but he was equally as anxious to get out of class. His mom was no doubt waiting for him and Hermione out in the parking lot. Today was special for Harry because today was his adoption day. June 18th, 1998, when he was a month shy of being two years old, his mom Elizabeth Cullens, had officially taken him home and called him her son. This day was almost more important to him than his birthday.

Often on this day, he, his mom and his best friend, Hermione Granger, had an intimate little dinner at his mom's self-titled café, _Elizabeth's_. Harry stared at the clock that hung above the blackboard and actively droned out Mr. Cattermole's voice.

_3:18_

That meant that there were two more minutes until the bell rang. Mr. Cattermole's voice rang above the rustling of the children in their seats. "Okay class, it's almost dismissal. I must say that you are the most patient class that I've had in sometime and I hope that you will all participate at the end of the year celebration tomorrow. We're two minutes to the end of the last day of classes so I'm going to tell you all to pack up and make sure you've everything before the bell rings."

Harry already had his things virtually in his lap and counted down the seconds until the bell. When it finally rang, Harry sprang like a frog and ran out of the building to his mother's car. He ran over to her window where she sat in the driver's seat reading a writer's magazine.

"Hey mom," he greeted. She looked up from her magazine and pecked him on the cheek.

"Hello Harry how was you last day at school?" she inquired, closing the magazine. "Fine mom, I'll tell you more, when I get in the car. Pop the trunk first." Harry replied, dramatically displaying all the bags and posters he had collected over the past school year. Elizabeth reached over into the junk compartment and pressed a button unlocking the truck. Just as Harry finished loading his things, Hermione vaulted over with her own arms full of belongings, particularly books.

Both children hopped into the car, Harry riding shotgun and Hermione in the back seat. Once they we're buckled in, his mother drew out the parking lot and reiterated her question, this time to the both of them.

"It was nice really, but I couldn't wait to get out of that place." said Harry, "I mean schools fine and all, but summer's way better. I will miss the piano classes though. What about you 'Mione?" Harry saw her frown at the nickname in the rearview mirror and couldn't help a snicker. _Hermione hated the nickname._

"It was okay I guess. I mean, I'm really going to miss that place." she said with a sigh. "Hermione, only you could manage to be sad on the start of summer vacation," Harry said with sarcasm. "Well think about it Harry, This was our last day in primary. After this summer, we won't be going back. We'll be in secondary."

Harry hadn't actually thought of that. That meant that he wouldn't be with all of the same classmates and possibly with Hermione. He wasn't even sure if he wanted to go to secondary. He knew Hermione was sure to go, but Harry wasn't a very studious person, he would rather focus on music and do solitary study. Harry also knew that despite what he wanted, his mother wasn't giving him any slack. He was going to secondary whether he _wanted _to or not.

His mother, Elizabeth Cullens, wasn't a very strict person. In fact many would consider her a very lenient parent. As long as he wasn't in danger or a hazard to any one else, she often allow him to go about his own. Elizabeth Cullens was a kind, quiet woman. Despite her quietness, she was quite outgoing and very ambitious. She was also very intelligent and well rounded and insured that her surrogate child was as well. Greek in ethnicity, she was raised in a typical Greek family and despite her mother's numerous marriages she had remained well grounded. Elizabeth was also a very nice looking woman. While on the short side, her looks way outshined any offsets.

She had shoulder length blonde brown hair and dark blue eyes that mesmerized many of the men she had encountered. Harry would call her thin, but not horribly so, more…Elegant. She carried herself in a confidant way that made many drawn to her. Even with her looks, she had avoided marriage, which was the story behind her adopting. Apparently, As Harry heard so many times before, she had decided to forgo the entire fall in love, get married, push out a baby routine. She had attempted to go in that direction, but it hadn't worked out so well so she decided to skip all of the former and do the next best thing: Adopt. That however, didn't go as planned. She had wanted to adopt a newborn, but when she had gone to pick up her prospective child, she discovered that the biological parents decided to keep the baby. The agency had just received another child and didn't have room and asked her to reconsider going for a newborn since there was always a chance that the biological parents would change their minds about giving up the child. That's when Harry came into the picture. Elizabeth saw him and fell in love. She decided at that moment that she wanted him to be her son and petitioned for his adoption. Six and a half months and piles of paperwork later, Elizabeth was officially a mother.

Hermione had been his friend since he began school. She was kind of a know-it-all, and many kids refused to make friends with her. Harry couldn't understand why that would stop anyone from being friends with her. She wasn't horribly ugly; she wasn't the most gorgeous duck in the pond either. She had long, curly, dark brown hair and big, round, brown eyes. She also had a bit of an overbite. Harry discovered that she had a tendency to be quite bossy. But Harry, being raised by his mother to never wrongfully judge people, decided to try and make friends with her. He was quite surprised to find that the class know-it-all was simply lonely. They had been friends ever since. The two were almost joined by the hip, practically like brother and sister.

Harry had drifted so far off into his own thoughts that he had missed the remainder of the conversation and indeed the remainder of the car ride. They had pulled up in front of Elizabeth's. It was a small café located in what most of its residents called "The heart of Cambridge". From the outside it was a small brick building with a flat above it. The only indicator of what it was were the small menu sign that sat to the right of the door and the neat cursive script painted onto the shop's window that read _Elizabeth's _and under it _café and pastries_.

"I see you plan on joining us on planet earth Harry," said Hermione, unbuckling. She climbed out of the car and Harry followed her actions, the Trio entering the place. His mother immediately put on her apron that hung near the door and went to work, taking orders. It was particularly packed today, no doubt from people stopping in for a cup of tea before heading home after a hard days work. Elizabeth's was quite a relaxing environment. There was dim lighting inside, most of it generated by the fireplace, where Harry and Hermione spent many a day reading. There was plenty of seating in the place some located by tables and some of it sofas near the window. There was a long bar that separated the employees area from the customers from which Rachel and Maria, some of his mother's closest friends and fellow employees served and prepared the food.

While Hermione went to finish up a book near the fire Harry decided that he would finish up a long overdue game of chess with one of the regulars, Benny Garret. He was an old black man that had been frequenting the café since it had been opened. He sat in the same spot everyday and played chess, most of the time with himself. Not that anyone minded. He had really been a help, keeping the shop when Harry and his mother had spent a very brief time as residents of New York City (Something that explained Harry's lack of a British lilt.) during her time as a magazine columnist.

"Hey, Mr. Garret," Harry greeted the older male as she took a seat across from him. Mr. Garret smiled and set up the board. "Hey kid, and how have you been?"

"Alright, today was the last day of school. How 'bout you?" said Harry, making the first move. "Well I ain't in school no more, so I can't say I got much exciting news, but I been fine." he replied, moving one of his pawns. Harry only nodded in response and neither said any thing else as they finished their game, Harry losing horribly, as he always did. They had been in the midst of a second game when his mom had announced that she was closing up. Mr. Garret cleaned up and prepared to leave while Harry and Hermione assisted his mom in straightening up in order to get everyone else out as quickly as possible.

When the last of people had vacated the café and the other staff had left, Elizabeth disappeared into the back and brought out of the kitchen a beautifully decorated cheesecake.

She sat it on the coffee table near the fireplace and Harry rushed over to plop down on a seat next to Hermione.

"Okay, so you both know why we're here." started his mom, "Nine years ago today, I made Harry Apollo Potter-Cullens my son. And every year, this day, we come together and celebrate this day, because, to me, today is his birthday. Today is the day that he was born as my son."

"Yeah, and she became a mom." added Harry, "Minus all the pushing and the nine month waiting period." His mom shot him an odd look and Hermione snorted, something that she only did when no one but the two of them were around. His mom pulled out a bottle of apple cider and pored it into wineglasses. "To family," she announced.

"To family," the two children repeated. Soon, Hermione's parents, both of them dentists, arrived to pick her up. With a hug for both Harry and his mom, she gathered her things and headed out the door. Harry and his mom cleaned shop and went up stairs into their apartment. For an apartment in England, it was quite large. There were two bedrooms, Harry's room and his mothers. There was also an intimate living room, a decent sized kitchen and a miniscule bathroom. There was also a dining room, but it was so small that his mother used it as a storage closet for their bikes. The minute they had entered the house, his mother started on dinner and Harry went to wash up. When he'd come back to the kitchen, his mother was already done making the instant macaroni and cheese (baking she could do, any other cooking…Not so edible.)

"Wow mom, what's the recipe for this stuff?" Harry asked sarcastically as he sat down at the kitchen table. His mother rolled her eyes. "Is it necessary for you to be so damn sarcastic?" she asked. "_Tisk, Tisk, _Mommy dearest, watch you language in the presence of children." teased Harry. She swatted at him, which he made a show of avoiding. "I'd like to see you cook, Mr. Funny." she said indignantly. Harry simply laughed. He was no better at cooking than she was. At least she could make a _round _pancake. "Yeah, I thought so. When you finish your Mac and Cheese, go to bed Harry." it wasn't said with any annoyance, but Harry could tell that she meant it. His mother often sent him to bed early when she wanted time to think.

_Or smoke…_ Harry thought angrily, though he didn't outwardly show it. He hated that his mother smoked and while she had stopped doing it in front of him, it still bothered him a lot. He could smell it and was afraid that his mother would get sick from smoking. But he never said anything anymore because he hated to upset her. So when he finished his dinner, he kissed his mom goodnight and headed to bed. His room was something of his mother's imagination.

She had thought she was going to be adopting a girl and had gotten the walls decorated with all sorts of fairytale creatures like unicorns, centaurs and phoenixes. When she had ended up with Harry, however, she had never gotten around to changing the room. Not that Harry minded though. He believed that the creatures were real. Somehow he just knew. And as he climbed into bed that night, he dreamed of flying alongside the phoenix that was painted on his bedroom wall as it trilled a chilling song.

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Elizabeth climbed out onto the fire escape of her small Cambridge apartment atop her quaint Cambridge café. She pulled her overly large purse in front of her and picked up a carton of cigarettes. Lighting up, she took a long drag of what Harry called a "Cancer Stick", releasing all the stress of her day along with the stream of smoke that filled the air around her like the sticky summer heat. This day had more significance to her than just Harry's adoption day. It was the day her entire life changed. It was the day that so many things were set into motion.

Harry had really changed so much since she had adopted him. Once a quite chubby child, playful and smiling, he was now tall, wiry, and mature, for his age. Perhaps growing up without a father figure had done the latter, Elizabeth didn't know. She had done all she could to give him a normal childhood, but perhaps he was just naturally conducted. His hair was now so long that she didn't bother telling him to get a hair cut. His bangs fell in front of eyes and his hair fell just below his jaw line. He was almost up to her chin in height and she was 5'7, so she was pretty sure that in a few more years he would pass her in height. His face had become more angular in years and his eyes were taught, almost Asian-like, but wide. His lips were full and Elizabeth knew that when he got a little older, the girls would fall over him if they weren't already. She highly suspected that Hermione would keep that in check though, as well as keep his head from getting inflated. It was amusing that her son's best friend was a girl and that Harry was so mature as to not mind the teasing of other children when others brought up that fact. The only things that had not changed were his eyes and the odd scar on his forehead. Particularly the scar which looked the same as the day she had first seen it. It hadn't even faded. When ever she asked him where he'd gotten it, she was unable to answer. Even that horrid aunt of his couldn't answer that question. The aunt she made sure her son knew nothing about. Putting out her cigarette, she climbed back through her window and went to tuck in her son. He was already sleeping, his chest heaving softly, up and down. she planted a kiss on his head and turned out his lamp.

He was a different sort of boy. He was special. He was going to be something. What that was, she couldn't place just yet.

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July 1, 2007

Elizabeth and Harry's apartment

_It was a weird dream. He was lying down and standing above him was a woman. She was beautiful. She had cherry red hair and bright green eyes. Like his. She smiled and stoked his cheek with the back of one of her fingers. And she began to hum a song. Harry knew that he had heard the song before, but couldn't trace the tune. Then a man; He had short, messy raven black hair and hazel eyes. He cooed at him, but for the love of him, Harry couldn't figure out who they were. He knew, though, that they were family. But did they actually exist?_

Harry woke up quite dazed. However he didn't move. He had learned from his mom long ago that if e didn't move when he woke up, he would be able to recall his dreams in better detail. However he really didn't need to do that for this dream. He had had this dream more or less once a week since before he could remember. It wasn't always the same, sometimes It would be a different man or he would be sitting up in the dream, but it was always the same room, the same woman, the same tune.

Harry rolled out of bed and washed before going into the kitchen. It was two weeks since school had let out and he was still waking up early.

"That has to stop," he thought aloud as he swung the refrigerator door open. He pulled out the milk and took out the box of Fruity Pebbles. As he sat chewing, Harry began to mull things over in his head. That dream. He was quite sure that the woman in his dreams was his biological mother. After all, they had the same eyes. But that was as far as it went. He always asked his mom what she knew about his blood family, but she never had much of an answer, saying that she had never come in contact with any of his relatives. Harry knew that she could simply call the adoption agency and ask for any information, or even a number, and was _quite _sure that she knew as much. He knew, however, that she was uncomfortable with doing so, so he didn't push the issue. She was on the "_I'm your family now._" note, and Harry was fine with that, but that didn't stunt his curiosity. Today, though, he wasn't doing to drop it as easily. He wanted to know.

He was washing out his bowl when Elizabeth finally woke up. She emerged in the kitchen, her hair stick up at odd angles with one eye half open and one completely closed. "I see you decided to join us in the land of the living mom." Harry said. She ignored him and started some water for her tea. Once she had settled and began sipping her peppermint tea, Harry began. "Hey mom, I want to find out about my biological parents."

She nearly choked on her tea, some of it flying out of her mouth as she struggled for air. Harry pounded her back several times to assist her in clearing her air ways. Once she was able to breath, she looked up at Harry, staring deep into to his eyes. Harry prepared to defend his position. He was surprised when she muttered, "Okay."

"Huh?" he said, as he was prepared for a fight. "I said okay Har-Bear. I think that, with your birthday in less than a month, you deserve to know and your old enough." She rose from her chair and walked back toward the end of the house, where her room was, beckoning for him to follow.

Harry hardly ever came in this room. It was simply off limits. Her bed sat in the middle of the room, and almost every thing in the room was an appealing red. The furniture was black. Harry truly believed that at one point in her life, his mother was Goth. He sat down on the edge of her bed while she went rummaging through her closet. She returned with a small cardboard shoebox. She spilled it out over her bed. Out of it spilled a series of unopened envelopes and slips of papers and a photograph folder. Harry reached for the latter, but she slapped his hand away.

"No Harry. I think we should read the letters first before we look at any pictures." she said quietly.

"You haven't read the letters mom?" asked Harry.

"Wasn't my place; they probably pertain to you and most of them were addressed to your some lady, I figured that it was only right that you see them first."

If possible, Harry's respect for his surrogate mother when up another level; She had actually saved the shoebox items for his eyes only. She had respected him enough to do so. Harry picked up a random letter, addressed to a "Petunia Dursley," and ripped it open.

_Petunia,_

_You may or not know of me, though I'm sure you heard of me from you sister lily. My name is Albus Dumbledore. Whether or not you care to know, you sister, Lily, just had a bouncing baby boy. He was welcomed into the world at 12:10am, July 31__st__ 1996. I'm not yet sure of his exact weighing in, but I expect that at some point in the day Lily will send you a letter similar to mine. I am alerting you because at some point in the future, you may encounter this child and not under the best circumstances. Trust that I will be corresponding with you in the following months. _

_Albus Dumbledore. _

_So now I at least have a name. _Harry thought, fighting a grin. "Mom, I know her name." he said quietly, to Elizabeth, who was reading over his shoulder. "Lily," she whispered, more to herself than to him. "That's quite a pretty name. I suspect that the two sisters didn't get on well, from what this "Albus" character says." His mother picked up another letter, this one with a date. It was written on old parchment, much like the letter before, and was quite worn.

_September 14__th__, 1996. _

_Petunia, _

_I hoped that it wouldn't come to this, but alas, it has. Your sister, her husband, and her son, Harry, have been forced to go into hiding. There is a dark entity after them and I fear the worst. I must be assured that you know the depth of the issue. Your sister is not just being searched after, she is being hunted. If she should die in this madness, I cannot guarantee that her son's godfather will be capable of such a responsibility as caring for a child. I understand you have a son of your own and I feel safe in saying that should Lily become incapacitated, you would be happy to take in your nephew. This is not a request. _

_Albus Dumbledore. _

Harry was beginning to wonder just who this Albus character. While the first letter seemed seemingly harmless, the second sounded like a gentle _threat_. Harry was starting to think that the writer of said letter wasn't quite nice. _My mother was hunted._ Harry didn't quite understand that part. If they were in such danger, why not go to the police. Was his family in some kind of trouble? Why would they go to this Dumbledore character? He must have held quite a strong base. _Maybe he was the leader of what ever my bio parents were apart of…_Harry was stunned that he was thinking of his parents being apart of some sort of gang. The only way to get either an affirmation or a refutation of his assumptions was to read the next letter. However, when Harry picked it up his mother stopped him with a hiss.

"Harry, these letters are quite deep, if the second one was any sign. Are you sure you want to read the next one?" she asked, concern lacing her voice. Harry nodded and opened the letter. This one began quite differently.

_Petunia,_

_You're sickening, do you know that? That you couldn't even come and see you own damn nephew? On his birthday no less! It was the only day we were allowed out of the house. Lily is your sister for heaven's sake. She loves you, misses you, she never stopped. You don't even respond to her letters. I don't put it past you to burn them. Petunia, you're pathetic. One day, you're going to feel bad about the way you treated her. By then, it will be too little to late. _

_James. _

The letter was written in an untidy scrawl and on a sheet of notebook paper. Harry guessed that the author of this letter might have been his father, but he wasn't to be sure. His mother looked a bit shocked after she finished reading the contents of the paper. She had come to the same conclusion as Harry about the letter being from his bio father. Harry reluctantly moved along to the last letter. He had a feeling that after he read that one, he'd either be really sad or really confused. This letter was quite different from the others simply in its preparing. While the others had been rolled into scrolls and tied, possible wrapped in fabric, this one was encased in an envelope and had a old styled wax seal on it with no distinction as to who it was from. Harry carefully opened this one and read the neat handwriting on it.

_Petunia Dursley,_

_It is with my deepest apologies that I must contact you again with such saddening news. While relaxing in her home, your sister, Lily Evans Potter, was announced deceased at 9:52pm, October 31__st__, 1997, at the age of 21. Her husband was pronounced dead at 9:34pm, October 31__st__, 1997, at the age of 21. As you may have discovered, Harry survived. I am not completely sure of the hows to that. We have corresponded on this subject several times, though I haven't given much detail. My reasons are solid on that point. What I do, however, require of you is that you care for your nephew the way you would your own child. Unfortunately, every one here has their hands tied and we've no way of getting in touch with his forenamed godfather, who has been missing in action since an hour after their deaths. Petunia, this is my last letter to you for now. I trust that you'll heed this warning: Care for him as if he was yours or you may be sorry for it later. _

_Albus Dumbledore._

Harry couldn't shed a tear. Somehow, he had known what the letter was going to say. He placed it down on the bed and reached for the photo folder. Slowly, he pulled out the photograph contained with in it. Several people waved up at him lifelessly from the paper. It was a photo of him as a baby. His eyes passed that aspect and fell on the woman.

"Mom, its her." his mother leaned across the bed to look at the picture at the woman Harry was pointing at. Harry just knew that he had found her. She had miraculously long, stick straight, cherry red hair and blazing green eyes. Harry noticed that he had inherited her full lips and almond shaped tilted eyes. In most other aspects he resembled one of the men in the picture; it had to be his father. He had the same type of messy hair that Harry had, albeit it was cut way shorter than Harry's and stuck up in the back; Near them, in the other corner of the picture, sat a man with long, inky black hair and grey eyes. He was looking at baby Harry. One of the other men had a clean cut look, with mousey brown hair and blue eyes. He had a series of scars on his face, particularly leading from his eye down. He was smirking at James.

The last man in the picture seemed out of place amongst the beautiful people in the picture. He was not ugly, but not what one would classify as handsome. He simply didn't stand out. He had short dirty blonde hair and thin nose. His lips were thin and he looked sickly and confused, shying away from the camera. Harry wondered who had been behind the camera and if they had noticed what he had. Carefully, Harry placed the photograph back in its folder. When he was about to close the folder, he noticed something written on the flap of it.

_On his eleventh birthday, all this will be explained. Make no effort to contact me. I have changed my number. _

_P.D._

So now he had his answers. But he also had so many more questions. His mother neatly packed away all of the papers and placed them back in her closet, save for the photo.

"Keep it," she said. "Now, even I want to know who these people are. That photo may help us." Harry looked up at her in disbelief. "You're going to look for them; Albus and the other men?"

"No, She said on your eleventh birthday, it will all be explained. So, we wait." said Elizabeth with some regret in her voice. Harry nodded with a sigh, "We wait.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

July 15, 2007

Sirius's office, Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Sirius leaned back in his office chair staring at the piece of parchment on his desk. Harry's Hogwarts letter; Dumbledore had told him that if he'd wanted to include a personal letter, he could. Sirius didn't know if he wanted to or not. He didn't want to get his hopes up and spill his heart out like he had foolishly done so many times before, only for the delivery owl to return with an unopened letter. Sirius picked up his quill, than thought better of it. A big red and gold phoenix flew in through his window and landed on his desk just as he had made his decision.

"What are you doing here Fawkes?" he asked the bird, petting his head. The bird trilled and nodded at the letter. "Oh, you've come to deliver this? You can find anyone." Sirius tied the letter to Fawkes' leg and petted his head one more time. "Be on with you. If any one has a chance of finding Harry, it's you." The phoenix bobbed its head and disappeared in a plume of flames. The minute the bird had disappeared Sirius went over to the fireplace near his desk and, sprinkling some floo powder over the flames and calling to Remus.

"Hello," came his old friend's voice.

"It's me, Sirius. You mind if I stop in for a visit?"

"Not at all Padfoot, Come right through." Sirius stepped into the fire and called our Remus' address. He spun around some, before landing in the man's fireplace. He climbed out of it and into Remus' sitting room where he sat sipping his afternoon tea. "By the looks of you, I say you needed a break from the Hogwarts scene?" murmured the werewolf. Sirius threw him an empty glare. "The Hogwarts letter for this years batch of first years went out, the group that Harry's supposed to be joining in September."

Remus' eyebrow's raised and he nodded in understanding. Two seconds silence passed between the men before Remus spoke. "How about we go out for some tea, I dare say, _Elizabeth's_ has the best in Cambridge. Have I ever taken you there?" Sirius shook his head. "Okay, then it's settled."

Remus grabbed up his wallet and he and Sirius headed out into the afternoon sun. "We'll be walking of course. It is muggle owned. And I've got no car." It seemed to Sirius that Remus was simply talking to break the silence. Inside the man probably felt the same as he did; Scared, Hopeful and doubtful all at the same time. Remus hadn't given up hope as easily as he had though. Sirius believed there was no way. Having Fawkes deliver the letter, however, made a glitter of hope shine in his heart. He told this to Remus after a minute, hoping to get the man to shut up so he could sort his feelings. Remus was never this talkative, ever. Indeed, his comment caused Remus to quiet down. Sirius was hoping that Harry got the message and came to Hogwarts in September. But if he had been adopted, that meant that he was going to spend the holidays with his surrogate family. That meant that the only time he would see his Godson was as a teacher, and hardly then, since he taught third year and up in physical transfiguration (McGonagall taught the first and second years and she only taught the upper years theory). He would never really get time to bond with the boy. Even Remus, who worked as a therapist at the school would see him more.

Sirius was brought back from his musing as the arrived at _Elizabeth's_. It was a small, quaint corner café. He and his friend stepped inside of the place and Remus led him to a table in the back away from the three other patrons' in the shop. They sat near a young boy, whose face neither man could see as he was facing the fireplace. They didn't make an effort to. They both sat in silence occasionally commenting on the school or the weather. Suddenly there was a disturbance. The young boy by the fire yelped suddenly. Sirius peaked around the chair to see if he was okay only to see…

"FAWKES!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Author's Notes:

Yes, I did it. Sorry it took me so damn long, too. But this story is like a mash up of all my other stories, so I had to make some adjustments. I also didn't like making anyones life easier than it should be. Because this is AU, Harry is not going to be like CANON!HARRY. He is a diffrent character in this story. Also, I thought making Hermione his friend from the get was interesting. In Canon, It seems as if Harry really can't stand Hermione most of the time. If you don't belived me just go read one of the essays on the Harry Potter lexicon. I decided to twist things around because in this fic, Hermione's even closer to Harry in canon and has put up with her nagging ways and bossiness for so long it doesn't bother him.

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	3. Of Now

July 17, 2007

The Cullens Residence

"Well I suppose I've always known my boy was…different." laughed Elizabeth, "My mother said it first; said he'd be special. I guess I shouldn't have taken it with a grain of salt then."

Elizabeth took another drag on her cigarette and smashed it out on the ash tray with a hint of aggressiveness, though the rest of her demeanor was cool and collected. Sirius saw right through that. He may have not been an accomplished occumulens like Severus or a psychologist like Remus, but he could tell that the whole "accepting mother/I always knew" routine was bullshit. He had seen it so many times when he went out as a Hogwarts ambassador to the new muggleborn first year's parents.

He never, however, expected to be doing this on behalf of his godson. Said godson was staring at him from the opposite side of the room, a stare that Sirius worked hard not to meet. Somehow he had not imagined his reunion with his long lost god son to be like this; sitting sandwiched between Severus Snape and Albus Dumbledore, Remus pacing the floor at his own home, while he sat trying to convince a muggle woman that not only was she the surrogate mother of a wizard, but that she didn't actually know her child at all. Sirius supposed that it could be worse.

After all, at least she had a background in witchcraft, due to the fact that her mother was Wiccan. Then there was Harry. He was so different than what Sirius suspected. Perhaps Sirius had expected James; perhaps he didn't know the boy that well, but from what he could tell and what Elizabeth had said he was no where close to James.

Apparently, Harry Apollo Cullens, as he had been so named, was a studious straight "A" student who enjoyed singing and playing piano and doing various martial arts. He was a shy boy and spent most of his life jumping continents having lived in both New York and Virginia previously. He didn't have many friends and wasn't that popular and pretty much sucked at any sport other than basketball and football (or soccer as his "mum" called it.) He even looked different from James if you care to really look him over. His hair was certainly longer than James' had ever been, falling just below his jaw.

Add the fact that opposite his father's messy and rather unruly hair, Harry's hair was starch straight with a bluish sheen to it. Sirius had to wonder if he made it lie flat like that or if it was just naturally like Lily's. His eyes were almond shaped like Lily's and bright green just like hers. His skin was very pale and flawless, like marble, and his lips were like a bow full, like his mothers. The only thing that Sirius could actually say that Harry might have inherited from his father so far was his nose, which was small and pointed, his strong jaw definition and high cheek bones and his height, as Sirius was sure that if James hadn't had the odd growth spurt he did, Lily would have definitely been way taller than him. Just watching the odd boy was unnerving. Dumbledore suddenly spoke up saving Sirius from saying anything.

"Yes, He is quite special Ms. Cullens. We would like to invite him to our school, where he can learn around children his age who have the same abilities as he. He won't be left out or treated differently. At Hogwarts, he'll learn not only how to control his abilities, but how to cultivate it." Sirius had to repress a snort.

_You go from telling the poor girl that her son is fucking revered as a hero to telling her that he'll be treated normally, _Sirius thought, tempted to say as much aloud. Elizabeth however wasn't so reserved.

"So you're telling me that even though he's an effin celebrity, he's going to be treated normally? Now that I take with a grain of salt," She snorted in the most un-lady like fashion, throwing her hands about dramatically. Both he and Severus exchanged smirks. So she wasn't impressed with Dumbledore, which was always a good thing. Severus and Sirius' smirk didn't go unnoticed by anyone either and Dumbledore raised an eyebrow. Even Sirius was surprised by just how well he got on with the snarky potions master since Lily and James' deaths. While they couldn't be called friends, acquaintances were enough.

They shared a drink here or there, even managed to have conversations every now and then. Not to say that they didn't not get on each other's nerves anymore. But perhaps the fact that not only did they have to work together, but then they were both at the Potters house after their murders, and they were constantly brooding about more or less the same thing, it made their outlook on each other improve. Neither had forgotten the reasons why they hated each other when they were boys, but somehow, after all this time and all that the war had put them through, the rivalry was no longer worth the time, the energy or the pettiness.

"Is there anything you two would like to say?" ask Dumbledore, with that dumb-ass twinkle in his eyes, "Perhaps you dear Sirius?"

Sirius decided wisely not to look at the old man and approached Harry, bending down so that he could look into the boy's eyes.

"Harry," he said firmly, as if to convince him that he was actually saying it, "I knew your father as a boy. He was a great person. However you're not your father so I'm not going to pretend you are for my own selfish reasons. You hardly look like him, nor do you have quite the track record as he," Sirius chuckled at that, "But I would be so happy if you came to Hogwarts. Not for me or for anyone else, but for you. For you to discover your own magic and…I don't know what to say really. I never expected to see you again in my life. And your – Mum – has raised you to be quite the boy, I suspect. I would be honored if you even allow me to visit you if you decide not to come to Hogwarts for the fact that I want to make-up for all that I missed in your life."

Sirius looked down at his hands, unable to look in his godson's face anymore. He then felt a cool hand on his forehead as Harry patted it. Sirius looked up and saw his godson grinning at him. The young boy hopped off the sofa to the surprise of everyone in the room and laughed.

"You sound like a cheesy after school special, complete with the Pop-Tart commercial," Harry said, walking into the kitchen.

He jumped up and grabbed something flat and yellow from off the top of one of the cabinets. When he came back, he pulled out a photo. Sirius recognized it immediately. Harry held it just out of his reach. He pointed to Sirius.

"That's you right?" Harry asked.

Sirius nodded dumbly.

"And your friend from yesterday?" he asked, pointing to Remus and earning another nod from Sirius.

"And those two," he said pointing to a twenty something Lily and James, are my mom and dad, right?" He gave another nod. Harry laughed.

"I want to know about their times at Hogwarts, about them, Okay. So instead of telling me how they died, tell me how they lived."

Such a brilliant smile spread across the boys face that no one knew what to say.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"The boy's wisdom knows no bound, that's for sure." said Snape as he and the other professors sat in the conference room at Hogwarts.

Everyone was excited to hear all about The-Boy-Who-Lived. Sirius had given an accurate physical description, but Severus was unsure that he could give such a clear one about the boy's mind. He was nothing like his father, and his mind said as much. The entire time that Dumbledore had been talking to his surrogate mother, Harry had been listening intently, though by looking at him one couldn't tell. Snape watched with amazement as the boy's mind processed and categorized all the information after carefully reviewing it. His mind was almost like a library of sorts.

Severus was sure that he would make a skill occlumens. But what was more amazing about the boy was that he seemed to realize that Severus was somehow intruding into his mentality and somehow managed to lock him out of anything he hadn't already seen. Severus was sure of this when the boy had lock eyes with him and sent him a piercing glare, almost like a warning. He couldn't be sure however if the boy even knew he was doing it. And then when he spoke, despite his rather Americanized accent, he sounded very intelligent. If there was one thing that Severus Snape could agree with Sirius Black on, it was that no one could confuse this boy with James Potter. He was something else entirely. Severus said as much to his collogues, leaving out the boy's mind blocking capabilities. Sirius hadn't seemed too surprised; after all his godson had laughed in his face and told him to cut the sob stories. Somehow, Black still managed to be in shock over that. Maybe Severus just might be able to survive the new first years after all.

"That," said Dumbledore, "still doesn't explain why we weren't able to find him all this time. It also doesn't explain the heavy warding around the Cullens residence. Is it possible that perhaps one among us knew where he was?"

"How would that be possible Albus?" asked McGonagall.

"I don't mean amongst our group here, but someone who maybe a wizard or witch who lived the area. Who recognized Harry for who he is."

"What do you mean for who he is, Professor?" said Sirius with a hint of annoyance, "He's not Harry Potter, I know that for damn sure."

"So you don't want to take Harry away from Mrs. Cullens?" Snape asked with surprise.

"Why in Merlin's name would I want to do that? It's not like she can say no to him coming to Hogwarts if he really wants to. Being his magical guardian, I'm in charge of his welfare in the magical world, and that also makes her adoption of him null and void in some ways so…No worries."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

July 31st, 2007

The Cullens home

Harry leapt out of bed eagerly. His clock read _5:12_, just enough time for him to be dressed before his mother woke-up. He took a hot shower and looked into the bathroom mirror. With all the humidity in the bathroom, his "stick straight hair" became highly unruly, making Harry have to brush it until it took on a slightly straight texture. He brushed his teeth vigorously, glad for the umpteenth time that he managed to avoid braces unlike Hermione, who had hers since he had met her. It was just a downside to having two dentists for parents. When he felt all clean and squeaky, he dressed in the clothes he had laid out the night before.

They could be considered rather American with a hip hop influence. When he looked in the mirror, he could truly say he looked rather handsome in a white tank, blue checkered button up that he left unbuttoned, slightly baggy jeans and blue and white chucks.

He put his white cap slightly tilted on top of his hair, having it tilting down slightly in front of his eyes, due to the fact that his ponytail kept it from going down in the back. If he had gotten a tan, he would look just like his friend Alhambra back in Brooklyn. He went into the kitchen and ate his daily Fruity Pebbles while waiting for his mother to wake up. It was when he'd heard his mother go into the bathroom that the doorbell room.

"Answer that, will you Harry?" called his mom from the shower.

Harry opened the door and there stood Sirius. He looked a little less rigid than when Harry had first seen him some weeks ago and looked a lot more at ease. He smirked a little when he saw that it was Harry who had opened the door.

"Hey Harry, you ready for today?" asked Sirius. He and his godfather had been keeping contact, albeit limited, ever since what Harry dubbed "The Talk".

"Yeah, just have to wait for mom; she's still in the shower."

They had a plan to go to get Harry's school things later on in the day, so Sirius was spending his birthday with him. After all, it had been sometime since he had last gotten to see his godfather, and he could tell that he wanted to spend some time with him. It also worked for his mom, who made it quite clear that she didn't want Harry alone with the man. It was beyond him why his mother was so adverse to the man's company. He wasn't going to worry his head over it though. He invited his godfather in, offering him a bowl of cereal. His godfather eyed it suspiciously.

"What the hell is that Harry?" he asked, sniffing the box. Harry couldn't help but laugh. "It's Fruity Pebbles, the best cereal ever. Why don't you try it?"

He poured the man a bowl of the cereal and Sirius nibbled on the edge of the spoon before mumbling in approval. Both of them were half way through their food when his mother came out. She was drying her hair with a towel, but was otherwise fully dressed. She kissed Harry on the forehead, throwing a sideways glance at Sirius. "Hello Sirius."

"'ullo iza'buth," he replied through a mouthful of cereal. Elizabeth rolled her eyes and finished drying her hair.

"So are we doing this…Diagon Alley first?"

Sirius gulped down a mouthful of cereal before saying anything.

"If you want; I mean, we could get it out the way and do what you planned later, it's up to you."

"Then we do Diagon Alley. After all, it is your first birthday together." She said it so sarcastically that neither knew how to take it.

Sometime later, they were standing inside a dimly lit pub, surrounded by rather haggard looking people. Elizabeth pulled her son tightly to her body as they made their way through the crowded space. Sirius obviously knew a few of the people there, mumbling greetings to a few of them, oddly blocking their view of Harry. They were almost to a door near the back when…

"By god, it's Harry Potter!" croaked a raspy voice.

You could have heard a pin drop as it grew eerily quiet.

"I don't like this," said his mom

Harry looked around from behind Sirius' back. It seemed as if half the pub was in shock and the other half was itching to maul him. However, all of them seemed to be holding themselves. It wasn't until Harry saw the look on Sirius' face did he understand why. Even Harry was afraid to be near his godfather. His eyes glinted with something feral, and Harry could swear that he'd growled. In fact he was sure of it as he heard the low rumble in the man's throat.

"Tom, take these two out back,"

Harry and his mom were led away by the bartender, a balding older man. Harry took one look at his godfather and shuddered. He never wanted that look to be directed at him. They stood outside for a moment before Sirius joined them. He seemed to have recovered from earlier, but his facial expression was once again the blank form that it had been when Harry had first met him. He took out his wand and tapped the brick wall without saying anything. Harry's confusion was washed away by amazement as the wall opened up onto an alleyway crowed with people of every type.

Sirius put a hand on his shoulder and led him forward. Harry tried to look up at him or look back, but Sirius held his shoulder so tightly that he couldn't do either. Harry abandoned the attempts and let himself be led to the first store, the Caldron Shop. It was quite small, and a sign sat outside of it reading:

Caldrons

All Sizes

Copper, Brass, Pewter, Silver

Self-Stirring

Collapsible

"Why'd we start here, Sirius? I wanted to get my wand first!" cried Harry. Sirius chuckled dryly.

"Harry, the wand shop is all the way on the other end of Diagon Alley. I figured we'd work our way down. Besides, you need something to carry your things in." replied Sirius.

"Why not just –" started Harry, but Sirius cut him off.

"No magic Harry, we don't want you to get lazy. Besides, it's not like you'll be able to use your wand. Law forbids you to use it until you're at the school, 'Underage wizardry'"

Harry groaned, but Sirius ignored him. _Eventually, he'll figure out that in Diagon Alley, magic can't be traced _mused Sirius.

"Now what do you need," muttered Elizabeth to her son.

Harry dug in his pocket, pulling out his supplies list. It read:

Uniform

All First year students will require the following articles of clothing:

Three sets of plain robes (black)

One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear

One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)

One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)

Please note that all pupils clothing should carry name tags

Course Books

All students should have a copy of the following:

The Standard book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk

Spells and Theory (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk

3. History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot

4. Beginners Guide to Transfiguration by Emric Switch

One thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore

Plants, Herbs and Fungi: Guide to Muggle equivalent by Fern Pollen

Magical Drafts and Potions (Grade 1) by Arsenius Jigger

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find them by Newt Scamander

The Dark forces: A guide to Magical Self Protection by Quentin Tremble

Self Defense: How to avoid confrontation and defend yourself by Lisa Tai-Chi

Other Equipment

1 Wand

1 Caldron (pewter, standard size 2)

1 Set of Glass Crystal Phials

1 Telescope

1 Set Brass Scales

Students may bring a cat OR an owl OR a toad

Remember that First Year students are not allowed to own their own brooms.

Harry rolled the parchment up and Sirius picked out a caldron, pewter and shining, getting his name inscribed into it. He got the merchant selling them to make it collapsible so Harry wouldn't be under too much pressure carrying it into class. It was not very big in the first place, almost like one of the large cooking pots his mother had at home (That remained unused due to his mother's _cooking_ ability.)

Sirius also made it his business to get Harry a few extra ("Just incase your one of those people, like me, who sucks at potions," he said, "They have a tendency to…melt") and a Stirring spoon that enhanced the quality of his potion. Harry didn't argue it, and became suddenly fascinated with Wizard currency. He watched as the two men exchanged shiny, thick coins. Waiting until they left the shop, Harry questioned his godfather.

"What these?" Sirius said, holding up a shiny gold coin.

"Yea, those, and the others; How come you guys don't use pounds or bills like everybody else?" Harry asked.

"We do," answered Sirius as they entered the Apothecary, "A long time ago, after the first war with Voldemort, A lot of people move into the muggle world. Let me say that it caused the Ministry of Magic a fair bit of problems. Many wizards and witches had no idea how to function in the Muggle world, so they developed a system so that we can use pounds _and _wizard currency (Galleons, Sickles & Kunts) to make purchases. Some of the elders prefer to use the old money. Most of the other shops in Diagon Alley only like to use muggle currency though."

Harry nodded, "So how much money do I have like that?"

"There's no need to concern your self with that, that there is business for your mother and I. I can assure you that you have more than enough to pay your way through school and never want a thing in your life. However, you don't have access to it, so there's no need to worry you pretty little head over it."

They left the Apothecary with Harry's new potions kit, something that was required, but usually provided by the professor and headed to the next shop, Quality Qudditch Supplies.

"But I thought he couldn't have a…broom." said Elizabeth.

"Who said I was getting him a broom?" said Sirius. Elizabeth rolled her eyes.

"Then why are we going in the broom shop," she asked, looking at the broom displayed in the window, The Nimbus 007.

"Because I want to look at some Qudditch supplies for my house team; I'm sure Harry would like to learn a little about the game. Wouldn't you Harry?"

Harry looked between the two adults. His mother looked a little peeved at being told what Sirius was doing in such a manner and Sirius looked oddly pleased with himself. As much as he wanted to side with his mother, he had been hearing about Qudditch for weeks now and his interest was peaked. He nodded in Sirius' favor and followed the man, not ignorant of his mother mumbling

"That's what the fuck books are for."

Harry was amazed by the shop. There were small model brooms flying about the place and in one corner teens only a few years older than him were crowded around an advertisement for a new broom. Harry gazed around then suddenly something flew in front of his face. By instinct he reached out, catching it in his palm. He open his hand and a small golden ball sat there, unfolding its wings. It looked prepared to fly away again so Harry quickly closed his hand around it again. He looked up to see his godfather and another man staring at him amazedly.

"What?" he asked stupefied.

"Harry, you just caught a snitch without even trying," said Sirius, a slow grin spreading across his face.

"So," Harry shrugged his shoulders, punctuating the comment. The two men exchanged glances. The older man put his hand on Harry's shoulder.

"Boy, I've been trying to catch that blasted thing all week, used to be a seeker in my day. I'll tell you that I had quite a few people in here trying to catch it too. No dice. Then you come in here and snatch the damn thing right out of the air. That's quite some feat. I'd say that you'd make quite the seeker someday."

"Yeah, he would," Sirius said in a resigned manner, "He definitely would be quite the asset to which ever house he ends up in when it comes to Qudditch. It's just too damn bad that first years aren't allowed to join the house teams." He then introduced Harry to the man.

"Harry, this is Garry Ford, Mr. Ford, this is Harry, my godson."

Apparently, Sirius need not say more, as a look of recognition passed across the man's face. He regained his composure quickly though, extending his hand.

"It's nice to meet you lad. I suspected that Sirius would bring you here. Completely forgot you'd be going to Hogwarts this year. Got something in the backroom here just for you."

They followed the Mr. Ford into a small room in the back and he disappeared into yet another room, returning with a package that was obviously a broom held carefully between his huge hands. He thrust it toward Sirius.

"I trust that you'll keep this safe for him till he should need it Black."

"A Sienna Storm; Solid oak and beautiful bronze," Sirius whistled, "The best damn broom and it's not even in production yet."

"That's for the boy, Black, so keep you ass off it. Let him break it in. Now be off, I'm sure you would rather be doing other things that standing around a broom shop all day. Looks like the Missus is getting a little mad too, Black."

Sirius looked as if he were about to protest, but the man just chuckled and pushed him out. Harry turned to give the man his snitch, but he just shook his head.

"No lad, you keep that. Lord knows I've no use of it. Besides, I suspect that you may need it to get in the little bit of practice you can."

Harry followed his mother and Godfather out of the place and the continued on to get the rest of his supplies. It was when they went into the robe shop, Twilfit and Tattings, that Harry met someone his age.

"Mother, why can't we just go where everyone else goes to get their robes," complained the boy.

"Because, we are not everyone else," replied who was obviously the mom, "We are Malfoys. We only have the best."

They turned the corner and came face to face with both the boy and his mother. Looking at Sirius' face, the mother bowed low and deep. She noticed that her son didn't bow and smacked the back of his head, causing the boy to bow just as deep.

"Father Black," she said, rising from her prostration, "What are you doing here on this fine day?"

The wording of her question was careful, precise. There was a look of not only respect, but fear in her face, one that perplexed Harry. Again, he looked at Sirius. His face was blank, denoting no particular emotion. It was weird that he was generally well mannered and kindly around just Harry and Elizabeth, but when he was around these people, he was stern and somewhat scary. Harry shuddered and looked at the other boy, who was surprisingly staring at him.

"Hello, I'm Draco Malfoy," said the boy as he extended his hand, "May I ask who you are?"

"Harry Cullens," said Harry, shaking the boy's hand firmly, "Nice to meet you Draco."

The boy seemed surprised that he had called him by his first name, but said nothing of it. He released Harry's hand, "Are you American?" he asked. Harry laughed.

"No, but I was raised around them and kind of caught the accent. Both my parents were from here though."

"Oh," said Draco. He stared at Harry, making him just a bit uneasy then suddenly burst out with another question, "How do you know my cousin?"

"Your cousin…"

"Sirius,"

"Oh, Sirius…He's my godfather." Harry replied. The look of familiarity that had crossed Mr. Fords face had also plastered Draco only the boy wasn't so practiced enough to erase it a quickly.

"You're Harry Potter?" he asked, his eyes flicking up to Harry's forehead, searching for the scar that Harry had been warned about.

"Yeah, but drop the Potter, its Cullens now." Harry said, just a little annoyed. The boy recovered from his star struck-ness and smiled.

"Okay then, Cullens it is. So you're like my god cousin or something…That's good. What house do you think you'll be in?" he said all of this so fast that Harry had to ask again.

"Oh, what house…Hmm…I don't know really, I really hadn't thought about it..."

"I'm bound for Slytherin. Both sides of my family have gone there...Except Father Sirius…He's the exception." Harry didn't know how to take that, but was suddenly annoyed with the boy's incessant chatter and made his way to get fitted. Draco followed, but seemed to have gotten the message and said no more. Harry, meanwhile, keyed into the adults conversation.

"…Yes father black. I'm sure Draco will be quite the companion to Mister…Cullens…no matter what house he should land in." said Draco's mother.

"See to it that he does. That may alleviate a fraction of the inter-house issues we may have. Which also raises another problem…I realize that because of "social" status, your husband and Arthur Weasley can't be called friends at any level," Sirius said.

Draco's mother's face made her look like she had just sucked on a lemon. "Yes you can say that. And I believe that yet another son of his is starting at Hogwarts this year. I can assure you that I will speak to Draco. We want a rather calm school year. Not another…Gabriel issue."

Harry wondered who Gabriel was. Was he Draco's father or brother…it wasn't his problem. The fitting was over and the tailor assured them that Harry would receive his robes before school began and that they would be of the best quality. Harry, Sirius and Elizabeth said good-bye to the other two and left, stopping for lunch. While Harry was eating his grilled cheese though, Sirius and Elizabeth were having "Grown-folk" talk.

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Author's Notes:

Hey you guys. I'm sooooo sorry it took me this damn long to update, but I've been transfering schools, mid-terms, boys, parents, boys...You know, teen stuff like that. Plus I've been trying to pick up my social-life. I know half of you guys want to beat the shit out of me...but...you have to review too! I mean, that's one thing that pushes me to update faster! So all you people...

REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW!!!!

(TT) (TT) (T;T)


	4. Of New & Old Friends

A/N: Hey reading people. A totally new chapter.Pretty long. I'd like to shout out all my readers and reviewers. Sorry it takes so long but I have to get this completely and totally right so you guys enjoy.

R&R

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Same Day

Ollivander's: Maker of fine wands, Diagon Alley

Harry, Sirius and Elizabeth walked into the dark shop. There was one lone candle, sitting on the counter that lit the entire shop. The counter formed a barrier between them and long, seemingly endless rows of dusty boxes on shelves that lined the walls. Harry made to ring the small silver bell on the counter, but suddenly a man materialized before him. He was old, that much was obvious and he had sparse, grey hair that retained a small amount of color at his temples, being dark brown. His eyes were light grey, eerie and moonlike. He looked past Harry at Sirius.

"Mr. Black, Hazel wood, Shave of Dragon's tooth, 13 inches. Very whippy, flexible; good for defensive spells." Sirius nodded, apparently knowing exactly what the odd man was speaking of. Said man turned to Harry.

"I've been expecting you Mr. Cullens. Yes, I am aware of the name change. It has resonated around Diagon Alley. I believe Lily's wand was Willow, Tail of Unicorn, 10 ¼; Very good for Charms. James – Mahogany, Dragon heartstring, 11. Excellent with transfiguration, very Sturdy."

Harry stared at the man with amazement. Did he really memorize every wand he sold?

The man whipped out a measuring tape and instructed for Harry to spread his arm. The measuring tape leapt from the man's hand and began to measure him everywhere. It even measured the width of his nose. When Harry realized why it was descending down toward his belt, he swatted it away. Behind him he heard Sirius chuckle.

Ollivander's began to rustle through boxes. Wand after wand Harry tried with no avail…

"Maybe you should try this one," rasped the man as he brought forth a velvet case. He opened it and carefully took out a long wand. It was smoothly textured, its handle and body very thin with what looked like sunrays etched into its sides.

"Holly, Phoenix Tail Feather, 11 inches; Whippy, very light weight, good for defense"

Ollivander spoke low with an omniscient tone, as if he'd known all along that this would be the one. Something told Harry that he was right in thinking so. Harry took the wand from the man's hand, looking back at Sirius and Elizabeth. Sirius's face was expressionless and his mother looked a little confused. He turned back to Ollivander.

"Well," said Ollivander, "Go on."

Harry didn't really know what was supposed to happen, but he flicked the wand nervously. Suddenly he felt a rush of air as every hair on his back stood on end. He could see the hairs on his arms stand, though they were sparse and damn near invisible. Harry resisted the urge to throw the wand away from him.

"Curious" said Mr. Ollivander.

"What's curious, Mr. Ollivander." asked Sirius. It seemed as if Ollivander had desperately wanted to be asked that. An eerie smile spread across his grim features.

"It is curious, Mr. Black, that this wand would choose him when it's brother gave him that scar." He said, his voice becoming deeper with every word, "Yes indeed, it was curious. The Dark Lord did great things. Terrible, but great…I'm sure we can expect much from Mr. Potter. Shan't we?"

Harry felt a hand grip his shoulder and he was hauled out of the shop. He heard Sirius snarl behind him and he heard the clinking sound of coins. His mother was standing behind him looking a bit paled. Harry had no way to know what Mr. Ollivander meant by the latter of what he spoke of when he said the wand chose the wizard and had no time to ponder on it as Sirius stormed out of the wand shop, took his wand from him and put it in its case before placing it in his caldron. Harry somehow felt that he shouldn't, for once, succumb to his curiosity and ask what happened.

One thing he did know: With a wand, he was truly a wizard.

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Later that night

The Cullens Residence

Elizabeth unlocked the door to her apartment and Sirius carried a sleeping Harry inside. He carried him to his room where he allowed Elizabeth to undress him and put him into his pajamas and then he placed the boy in his bed, drawing up his covers. Elizabeth looked on with silence as Sirius patted the boy's head and kissed his temple. Sirius walked past her into the hallway and Elizabeth flicked off the light, shutting the door. When she went into the living room, Sirius held a picture frame in his head that she recognized as one of Harry's baby pictures.

"He was a gorgeous baby," she said, startling him. He placed the frame back on the mantle.

"I'm sorry Ms. Cullens-" he started, but she raised her hand to stop him.

"No, no, it's okay Mr. Black. I can't say I understand how you're feeling, I don't. But I can say that I see your pain." Elizabeth gestured for him to sit, "I want to thank you for today…everything, you know? You didn't have to do anything after the way that I treated you."

Sirius laughed. "It was no problem Ms. Cullens. I do this all the time."

"Oh, so you must have a lot of godsons." said Elizabeth, folding her arms across her chest. It took a minute for Sirius to catch just what she meant.

"Ooh. That's what you mean." he sighed.

Elizabeth joined him on the sofa. "You must have been in Gryffindor house, because what you did today was brave." Sirius looked surprised at her reference to the Hogwarts house, to which she answered, "I do pay attention when you speak."

"I was indeed in Gryffindor. But I don't see how brave I was. Like I said, even though he's my godson, I do this all the time. It's just like those other times, only it's for someone I care about." said Sirius exasperatedly.

"No, it's not Mr. Black. You feel as if you owe something to him for not being there. What you did today is something I may have been incapable of in your position. You felt like he wouldn't love you like you love him, but you decided to face him anyway. To treat him as you would treat anyone else instead of like the son of your murdered friend. That takes balls, something that, as a female, I don't have." said Elizabeth, unconsciously taking his large hand between both of her own.

He looked into her eyes and she looked into his. _His eyes are amazing_ she found herself thinking. The teacher suddenly leaned forward and kissed her. It was a sweet kiss, nothing hot and heavy; Sweet and tender. At first, she melted into it, but then she realized something, She was kissing her son's future teacher! She pushed him back, breathing heavily.

"I shouldn't have done that," Sirius breathed, closing his eyes, a small smile on his face.

Elizabeth jolted up from the sofa. "Uh, yeah…I mean you are his teacher and all…"

"No, I'm not. I don't have him until third year."

"Oh really,"

"Yep"

There was an awkward silence before Sirius rose from the sofa and made his way for the door.

"I should go."

Elizabeth walked him to the door and as he stepped out he turned around. "It was nice speaking with you Ms. Cullens."

"Likewise; please, don't hesitate to call. You're always welcome here." Sirius waved and began making his way down the stairs. Suddenly, despite herself, Elizabeth called to him.

"Sirius,"

He came back up the stairs. "Yes, Ms. Cullens."

"Call me Elizabeth. Ms. Cullens sounds stuffy. And…uh…here's my number." She slipped a paper in his hand with her number on it, "Use it."

"I will."

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September 1, 2007

The Cullens Residence

The first of September came all too fast for Harry. He had spent little time with Hermione, who was also going to boarding school this year and he would miss her much. The only times he had been separated from her for a long time was when he went to America. He had to wake up early and finish packing his trunk, a mahogany one with gold embellishments and his name carved into a plague above the lock that read _Harry Apollo Cullens _in cursive. He began throwing last minute items in it like his recorder for his songs, extra pairs of clothes that he hadn't thought of before and his birthday gift, a two way mirror from Sirius. His mother had made him fold and store his clothes the day he had gotten the trunk. His school robes were on the top.

They were made of a thick satin like material and had silver buttons. They were accompanied by a grey sweater with plain black lining, a black tie and black khakis. In a little box that fitted in a square compartment in his trunk were two badges. One had the Hogwarts crest on it and the other was blank. Apparently, the lining in and on his robes as well as the blank badge would magically become the colors of whatever house he ended up in. One thing he had insisted on a college messenger bag in black. With the number of books he had to carry around, he was sure that he would rip right through the bags that were sold at the wizard stores. Sirius had assured him that they were charmed to handle such stress as well as be comfortable to the wearer, but Harry wanted to be sure.

Harry also made note to feed his owl. He had named her Hedwig and she was a gift from Remus. She was a snowy owl and had black marks on her and large yellow eyes. He would have preferred a dog or even a raven, like the one he had seen at the pet shop in Diagon Alley. However he was thankful. The owl was beginning to grow on him. His mother condemned the bird to his room, however, due to her fear of owls. Harry laughed at the thought of her nearly pissing herself when Remus had brought it to him.

He quickly took a shower and dressed, this time simple, in a pair of fitting jeans, a Maroon 5 shirt (Which managed to be Maroon in some sick way) and a pair of black converses. He threw a black cap into the mix and tossed his black pea coat on the bed so he could throw it on before they walked out the door. He made to go wake his mother up, but before he began walking to the back of his house, he glimpsed his mother sitting on the armchair in the living room. Quietly he walked over to her.

"Mom"

Elizabeth jumped in her seat and dropped the picture frame he hadn't noticed her holding.

"Oh, Harry, babe…What's up?"

"What's up with you mom?" asked Harry raising an eyebrow.

"Nothing' Love." She bent to pick up the picture which he could now see was of him in the Café with him mom. He was about eight and it was right after they had bought the shop, as he could see the wallpaper in the background that he had taken so much joy in ripping down. Horrid pink wall paper with orange ducks on it. Gods he hated orange. "It's just; I'm going to miss you around here; what with you being gone for nine months. You told Hermione, how'd she take it."

"She's going to boarding school too, though she didn't say where. I didn't ask. But back to you mom, are you going to be okay?" Harry asked.

"Yes, Hun'. Like I said, I'm going to be missing you is all. But you better behave. Sirius will be there watching over you, as will Remus. I better not get any…reports."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Mom, me? I'm the most innocent person you'll ever want to meet."

"Hm, then I must want to meet the Devil himself," she sniggered and ushered him in the kitchen.

Harry stuffed his mouth with a real breakfast this morning, one which consisted of eggs, beef sausage (his mother was not a fan of pork) & waffles. His mother could cook breakfast, that he would admit.

"Ish Siwiush comin' tosay?" he asked through a mouthful of sausage.

"Yeah, he should be here soon." said Elizabeth nonchalantly. Harry nodded. Sirius seemed to have grown on his mother, though Harry sensed something on the surface that he didn't quite understand. Sirius had definitely been spending more time around his house lately. However, the arguments that they had, Elizabeth and Sirius, always seemed more serious than they let on, Almost as if they spoke when Harry was not around.

Harry was on the verge of not giving a damn though. He was too excited about starting school. He finished his breakfast and reached up into the cabinet, taking out three full sized boxes of Fruity Pebbles. There was no way he was going to survive an entire school year without them.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

They reached King's Cross at half past 9. Sirius lifted Harry's trunk onto a cart and wheeled it into the station for him. "Well, there you are kiddo. Platform nine — platform ten, your platform should be somewhere in the middle, I don't remember which one, it's been so long since I've used this entrance." Sirius scratched his head dumbly under a look of extreme contempt from Elizabeth.

Harry's mouth went rather dry. "Wow, Sirius, that's really nice."

"So how's he supposed to get to school then Mr. Bright Guy." said Elizabeth, plopping down on a bench.

He almost stopped a passing guard, but Sirius shook his head no.

"They will think your losing your mind." he said.

At that moment a group of people passed just behind him and he caught a few words of what they were saying.

"— packed with Muggles, of course —"

Harry swung round. The speaker was a plump woman who was talking to four boys, all with flaming red hair. Each of them was pushing a trunk like Harry's in front of him — and they had an _owl_.

Sirius walked over to them and tapped the woman. The woman spun around and when her eyes fell on Sirius a wide smile spread across her face. Harry couldn't hear what they were saying, but it was obvious that she was complimenting him because Sirius blushed suddenly and waved them over.

"Harry," said Sirius as he pulled him in front of him self, "This is Mrs. Molly Weasley. She was apart of the order and a close friend of Lily's. Molly, this is my godson, Harry Apollo Cullens. And this is his mother, Elizabeth Cullens."

Harry could see the boys over her shoulder as he shook her hand. There were two that appeared to be twins and the gaped openly at him. The oldest looking one looked on with only slight interest, but was too busy fixing the gold and red badge fastened to his pullover. The two younger ones, a boy his age and a girl not that much younger than him, were in the same position as the twins only they seemed to be in disbelief.

"Oh, he looks so different than what I imagined. I thought he might look like James, but he doesn't look like either of them. No, let me not say that, I see a little of Lily. Nevertheless he is very handsome."

Now it was Harry's turn to blush. Sirius laughed and brought up his point.

"Um, Molly, I know this might sound really bad, but I can't remember where the platform is."

Molly patted his cheek, "Oh, you poor dear. That's no fault of yours. You've been through so much. Why if I ever get my hands on that minister I'll—"

A dark look crossed Sirius' face and caused Molly to pause mid-sentence. Harry looked between the three adults present and it seemed that something private passed. Molly then plastered the most obviously fake smile across her face and turned to face her children.

"Okay boys, let's go. On to the platform. Let's show Mr. Cullens how we do it."

The oldest boy marched toward platforms nine and ten. Harry watched, careful not to blink in case he missed it — but just as the boy reached the dividing barrier between the two platforms, a large crowd of tourists came swarming in front of him and by the time the last backpack had cleared away, the boy had vanished.

"Fred, you next," the plump woman said.

"I'm not Fred, I'm George," said the boy. "Honestly, woman, you call yourself our mother? Can't you _tell _I'm George?"

"Sorry, George, dear."

"Only joking, I am Fred," said the boy, and off he went. His twin called after him to hurry up, and he must have done so, because a second later, he had gone — but how had he done it?

Now the third brother was walking briskly toward the barrier he was almost there — and then, quite suddenly, he had just disappeared, gone through the barrier.

Mrs. Weasley pointed at the last and youngest of her sons. He was tall, thin, and gangling, with freckles, big hands and feet, and a long nose.

"Ron's about to go through." she said. "All you have to do is walk straight at the barrier between platforms nine and ten. Don't stop and don't be scared you'll crash into it, that's very important. Best do it at a bit of a run if you're nervous. Go on, go now before Ron."

"Er — okay," said Harry.

He pushed his trolley around and stared at the barrier. It looked very solid.

He started to walk toward it. People jostled him on their way to platforms nine and ten. Harry walked more quickly. He was going to smash right into that barrier and then he'd be in trouble — leaning forward on his cart, he broke into a heavy run — the barrier was coming nearer and nearer — he wouldn't be able to stop — the cart was out of control — he was a foot away — he closed his eyes ready for the crash —

That didn't come…he kept on running…he opened his eyes. A scarlet steam engine was waiting next to a platform packed with people. A sign overhead said_Hogwarts' Express, eleven o'clock_. Harry looked behind him and saw a wrought-iron archway where the barrier had been, with the words _Platform Nine and Three-Quarters _on it, He had done it.

Smoke from the engine drifted over the heads of the chattering crowd, while cats of every color wound here and there between their legs.

Owls hooted to one another in a disgruntled sort of way over the babble and the scraping of heavy trunks. The first few carriages were already packed with students, some hanging out of the window to talk to their families, some fighting over seats. Harry pushed his cart off down the platform in search of an empty seat. He passed a round-faced boy, who was saying,

"Gran, I've lost my toad again."

"Oh, _Neville_," he heard the old woman sigh.

A boy with dreadlocks was surrounded by a small crowd.

"Give us a look, Lee, go on."

The boy lifted the lid of a box in his arms, and the people around him shrieked and yelled as something inside poked out a long, hairy leg.

Harry pressed on through the crowd until he found an empty compartment near the end of the train. He put Hedwig inside first and then started to shove and heave his trunk toward the train door. He tried to lift it up the steps but could hardly raise one end and twice he dropped it painfully on his foot.

"Want a hand?" It was one of the red-haired twins he'd followed through the barrier.

"Yes, please," Harry panted.

"Oi, Fred! C'mere and help!"

With the twins' help, Harry's trunk was at last tucked away in a corner of the compartment.

"Thanks," said Harry, pushing his sweaty hair out of his eyes.

"What's that?" said one of the twins suddenly, pointing at Harry's lightning scar.

"Blimey," said the other twin. "I thought you were —?"

"He is," said the first twin. "Aren't you?" he added to Harry.

"What?" said Harry.

"_Harry Potter_." chorused the twins.

"Oh, him," said Harry. "I mean, yes, I am."

The two boys gawked at him, and Harry felt himself turning red. Then, to his relief, a voice came floating in through the train's open door.

"Fred? George? Are you there?"

"Coming, Mom."

With a last look at Harry, the twins hopped off the train.

Harry sat down next to the window where, half hidden, he could watch the red-haired family on the platform and hear what they were saying. Their mother had just taken out her handkerchief.

"Ron, you've got something on your nose."

The youngest boy tried to jerk out of the way, but she grabbed him and began rubbing the end of his nose.

"_Mom_— geroff" He wriggled free.

"Aaah has ickle Ronniekins got somefink on his nosie?" said one of the twins.

"Shut up," said Ron.

"Where's Percy?" said their mother.

"He's coming now."

The oldest boy came striding into sight. He had already changed into his billowing black Hogwarts robes, and Harry noticed a red and gold badge on his chest with the letter _P _on it.

"Can't stay long, Mother," he said. "I'm up front; the prefects have got two compartments to themselves —"

"Oh, are you a_prefect_, Percy?" said one of the twins, with an air of sarcasm. "You should have said something, we had no idea."

"Hang on, I think I remember him saying something about it," said the other twin. "Once —"

"Or twice —"

"A minute —"

"All summer —"

"Oh, shut up," said Percy the Prefect.

"How come Percy gets new robes, anyway?" said one of the twins.

"Because he's a_prefect_," said their mother fondly. "All right, dear, well, have a good term — send me an owl when you get there."

She kissed Percy on the cheek and he left. Then she turned to the twins.

"Now, you two — this year, you behave yourselves. If I get one more owl telling me you've — you've blown up a toilet or —"

"Blown up a toilet? We've never blown up a toilet."

"Great idea though, thanks, Mom."

"It's _not funny_. And look after Ron."

"Don't worry; ickle Ronniekins is safe with us."

"Shut up," said Ron again. He was almost as tall as the twins already and his nose was still pink where his mother had rubbed it.

"Hey, Mom, guess what? Guess who we just met on the train?"

Harry leaned back quickly so they couldn't see him looking.

"You know that Sirius' godson is really Harry Potter?"

Harry heard the little girl's voice.

"Oh, Mom, can I go on the train and see him, Mom, eh please…"

"You've already seen him, Ginny, and the poor boy isn't something you goggle at in a zoo. And I don't think he nor his mother or Sirius would appreciate any of you boy's treating him as so. Besides, his name is Cullens now. Befriend him, don't be rude either."

"Never mind that, do you think he remembers what You-Know-Who looks like?"

Their mother suddenly became very stern.

"I forbid you to ask him, Fred. No, don't you dare; as though he needs reminding of that on his first day at school."

"All right, keep your hair on."

A whistle sounded.

"Hurry up!" their mother said, and the three boys clambered onto the train. They leaned out of the window for her to kiss them good-bye, and their younger sister began to cry.

"Don't, Ginny, we'll send you loads of owls."

"We'll send you a Hogwarts' toilet seat."

"_George!_"

"Only joking, Mom"

The train began to move. Harry saw the boys' mother waving and their sister, half laughing, half crying, running to keep up with the train until it gathered too much speed, and then she fell back and waved.

Harry watched the girl and her mother disappear as the train rounded the corner. Houses flashed past the window. Harry felt a great leap of excitement. He didn't know what he was going to — but it had to be better than what he was leaving behind.

The door of the compartment slid open and the youngest redheaded boy came in.

"Anyone sitting there?" he asked, pointing at the seat opposite Harry. "Everywhere else is full."

Harry shook his head and the boy sat down. He glanced at Harry and then looked quickly out of the window, pretending he hadn't looked. Harry saw he still had a black mark on his nose.

"Hey, Ron"

The twins were back.

"Listen, we're going down the middle of the train — Lee Jordan's got a giant tarantula down there."

"Right," mumbled Ron.

"Harry," said the other twin, "did we introduce ourselves? Fred and George Weasley.

And this is Ron, our brother. See you later, then."

"Bye," said Harry and Ron. "And good riddance, too" Ron added and he stood and slid the compartment door shut behind them.

"Are you really Harry Potter?" Ron blurted out.

Harry nodded.

"Oh — well, I thought it might be one of Fred and George's jokes," said Ron. "And have you really got — you know…"

He pointed at Harry's forehead.

Harry pulled back his bangs to show the lightning scar. Ron stared.

"So that's where You-Know-Who —?"

"Yes," said Harry, "but I can't remember it."

"Nothing?" said Ron eagerly.

"Well — I remember a lot of green light, but nothing else."

"Wow," said Ron. He sat and stared at Harry for a few moments, then, as though he had suddenly realized what he was doing, he looked quickly out of the window again.

"Are all your family wizards?" asked Harry, who was interested about the workings of a fully magic family.

"Er — Yes, I think so," said Ron. "I think Mom's got a second cousin who's an accountant, but we never talk about him."

"So you must know mad magic already."

"Mad? What's your accent?" asked Ron

"Oh, me," said Harry, "I was raised in America for sometime. That's just some slang. Mad means very or a lot"

"Oh"

The Weasleys were clearly one of those old wizarding families the pale boy in Diagon Alley had talked about.

"I heard you went to live with Muggles," said Ron. "What are they like?"

"My mom is great. She's the nicest, sweetest person I know. I mean, I guess _muggles_are just like wizards as far as personality, some are nice, some are not. Only thing they don't have is magic I guess. Wish I'd had three wizard brothers."

"Five actually," said Ron. For some reason, he was looking gloomy. "I'm the sixth in our family to go to Hogwarts. You could say I've got a lot to live up to. Bill and Charlie have already left — Bill was head boy and Charlie was captain of Quidditch. Now Percy's a prefect. Fred and George mess around a lot, but they still get really good marks and everyone thinks they're really funny. Everyone expects me to do as well as the others, but if I do, it's no big deal, because they did it first. You never get anything new, either, with five brothers. I've got Bill's old robes, Charlie's old wand, and Percy's old rat."

Ron reached inside his jacket and pulled out a fat gray rat, which was asleep.

"His name's Scabbers and he's useless, he hardly ever wakes up. Percy got an owl from my dad for being made a prefect, but they couldn't aff — I mean, I got Scabbers instead."

Ron's ears went pink. He seemed to think he'd said too much, because he went back to staring out of the window. Harry understood at once. Ron wasn't exactly rich. He really couldn't tell thought. Ron's clothes looked quality; a maroon sweater and a pair of loose grey pants. Harry didn't think there was anything wrong with not being able to afford an owl.

"My mum made this," said Ron, noticing where his eyes wandered.

"Wow she's amazing. I sure couldn't tell."

They were quiet for a moment then Harry decided to tell Ron about finding out he was a wizard.

"…and until Sirius told me, I didn't know anything about being a wizard or about my parents or Voldemort —"

Ron gasped.

"What?" said Harry.

"_You said You-Know-Who's name!_" said Ron, sounding both shocked and impressed. "I'd have thought you, of all people —"

"I'm not trying to be _brave _or anything, saying the name," said Harry, "But fear of the name only gives him power. He killed my parents; I'm definitely not giving him that power. I didn't know there was such a problem with saying his name though." he added, voicing for the first time something that had been worrying him a lot lately, "I bet I'm the worst in the class."

"You won't be. There's loads of people who come from Muggle families and they learn quick enough."

While they had been talking, the train had carried them out of London. Now they were speeding past fields full of cows and sheep. They were quiet for a time, watching the fields and lanes flick past.

Around half past twelve there was a great clattering outside in the corridor and a smiling, dimpled woman slid back their door and said,

"Anything off the cart, dears?"

Harry, who hadn't had any breakfast, leapt to his feet, but Ron's ears went pink again and he muttered that he'd brought sandwiches. Harry went out into the corridor. With the hundreds of pounds and wizard money that he had pockets rattling with gold and silver he was ready to splurge; buy as many Snickers as he could carry — but the woman didn't have Snickers. What she did have were Bettie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Chocolate Frogs. Pumpkin Pasties, Cauldron Cakes, Licorice Wands, and a number of other strange things Harry had never seen in his life. Not wanting to miss anything, he got some of everything and paid the woman eleven silver Sickles and seven bronze Knuts.

Ron stared as Harry brought it all back in to the compartment and tipped it onto an empty seat.

"Hungry, much?"

"You don't even know," said Harry, taking a large bite out of a pumpkin pasty. "Mom's not much of a cook. Baking yeah, anything else noooooo."

Ron had taken out a lumpy package and unwrapped it. There were four sandwiches inside. He pulled one of them apart and said, "She always forgets I don't like corned beef."

"Swap you for one of these," said Harry, holding up a pasty. "Go on —"

"You don't want this, it's all dry," said Ron. "She hasn't got much time," he added quickly, "you know, with five of us."

"Go on, have a pasty," said Harry, "I love corned beef. I bet your mom's is better than the ones they sell near my house."

It was a nice feeling, sitting there with Ron, eating their way through all Harry's pasties, cakes, and candies. They were partly through the mountain when there was a knock at the compartment door. A boy with a long black braid and black rimmed glasses waved from the other side.

Harry waved him inside. "What's up?"

"I'm sorry to disturb you guys, but my sister kicked me out of the compartment and there's no where else and well—"

"You can stay here if you want," grumbled Ron through a mouthful of chocolate.

"Thanks," said the boy, plopping down on the seat and placing a basket on the chair. Harry started when the basket jumped. The boy held the basket down and shot a look at Harry that said "You don't want to know" He shook both their hands

"Mun-Hee Cha, First Year. Call me Rook, what about you…"

"Harry Cullens"

"Ron Weasley"

"Cool. Hey, Cullens, you're the one Draco was talking about. Say you guys are cousins?" asked Rook.

"Somewhat. His cousin, Sirius Black is my godfather. That makes him my god cousin." explained Harry. He was about to go into an explanation about the whole family ties thing, but Ron cut in.

"Your cousins with that slime-ball?" he said incredulously.

"God cousins and he doesn't seem like a slime-ball to me." said Harry.

"No. He only looks down his nose at anyone that isn't pureblooded or rich."

"Well I just met him not long ago, so don't mind me if I'm reserving judgment. How do you know Draco, Rook?" asked Harry.

Rook looked up from the Drooble's blowing gum wrapper comic and asked, "What?" Harry repeated his question. "Oh, Drake? The big wizarding families from all around the world keep in touch for business transactions. I've know him since I was really little. Were not best friends, but were very good friends. I have to agree with Ron though, something we've never got along about is his families — disdain for those not of their status. In Seoul —"

"Where's that," asked Ron.

"Korea — but yeah, in Seoul we are taught to honor all people. My family is one of the most prominent; so many families emulate us so we have to set a good example. My Fa is taking a chance sending us here." finished Rook. He looked as if he really didn't want to talk about his father as a look of disgust passed across his face at his mention. They turned back to their junk food.

"What are these?" Harry asked Ron, holding up a pack of Chocolate Frogs. "They're not _really _frogs, are they?" He was starting to feel that nothing would surprise him.

"No," said Ron. "But see what the card is. I'm missing Agrippa."

"What?"

"Oh, of course, you wouldn't know — Chocolate Frogs have cards, inside them, you know, to collect — famous witches and wizards. I've got about five hundred, but I haven't got Agrippa or Ptolemy."

Harry unwrapped his Chocolate Frog and picked up the card. It showed a very familiar man's face. He wore half-moon glasses, had a long, crooked nose, and flowing silver hair, beard, and mustache. Underneath the picture was the name Albus Dumbledore.

"I met him, he came to my house," said Harry.

"Did you really! Mind you, I've never met him in person," said Rook.

"Can I have a frog? I might get Agrippa — thanks —" said Ron

Harry turned over his card and read:

_ALBUS DUMBLEDORE _

_CURRENTLY HEADMASTER OF HOGWARTS _

_Considered by many the greatest wizard of modern times, Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood, and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel. Professor Dumbledore enjoys chamber music and tenpin bowling. _

Harry turned the card back over and saw, to his astonishment, that Dumbledore's face had disappeared.

"He's gone!"

"Well, you can't expect him to hang around all day," said Ron. "He'll be back. No, I've got Morgana again and I've got about six of her…do you want it? You can start collecting."

Ron's eyes strayed to the pile of Chocolate Frogs waiting to be unwrapped.

"Help yourself," said Harry. "But in, you know, the Muggle world, people just stay put in photos."

"Do they? What, they don't move at all?" Ron sounded amazed. _"_Must get awful bored"

Harry stared as Dumbledore sidled back into the picture on his card and gave him a small smile. Ron was more interested in eating the frogs than looking at the Famous Witches and Wizards cards, but Harry couldn't keep his eyes off them. Soon he had not only Dumbledore and Morgana, but Hengist of Woodcroft, Alberic Grunnion, Circe, Paracelsus, and Merlin. He finally tore his eyes away from the Druidess Cliodna, who was scratching her nose, to open a bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans.

"You want to be careful with those," Ron warned Harry. "When they say every flavor, they _mean _every flavor — you know, you get all the ordinary ones like chocolate and peppermint and marmalade, but then you can get spinach and liver and tripe. George reckons he had a booger-flavored one once."

"I got shit once." said Rook randomly. Both Ron and Harry startled by the comment.

"Um, Rook," started Harry,

"Yeah,"

"You'd have to had tasted shit in order to know what it tastes like." Rook looked up and them and blushed furiously before throwing a bean at him.

"It had to have been shit, it was horrible." he said as an excuse.

"Yeah, okay," laughed Harry.

Ron picked up a green bean, looked at it carefully, and bit into a corner.

"Bleaaargh — see? Sprouts"

They had a good time eating the Every Flavor Beans. Harry got toast, coconut, baked bean, strawberry, curry, grass, coffee, sardine, and was even brave enough to nibble the end off a funny gray one Ron wouldn't touch, which turned out to be pepper.

The countryside now flying past the window was becoming wilder. The neat fields had gone. Now there were woods, twisting rivers, and dark green hills.

There was another knock on the door of their compartment and the round-faced boy Harry had passed on platform nine and three-quarters came in. He looked tearful.

"Sorry," he said, "but have you seen a toad at all?"

When they shook their heads, he wailed, "I've lost him! He keeps getting away from me!"

"He'll turn up," said Harry.

"Yes," said the boy miserably. "Well, if you see him…"

He left.

"Don't know why he's so bothered," said Ron. "If I'd brought a toad I'd lose it as quick as I could. Mind you, I brought Scabbers, so I can't talk."

The rat was still snoozing on Ron's lap.

"He might have died and you wouldn't know the difference," said Ron in disgust. "I tried to turn him yellow yesterday to make him more interesting, but the spell didn't work. I'll show you, look…"

He rummaged around in his trunk and pulled out a very battered-looking wand. It was chipped in places and something white was glinting at the end.

"Unicorn hair's nearly poking out. Anyway —"

He had just raised his wand when the compartment door slid open again. Harry heard the voice of a girl, but he didn't bother looking up

"Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one," she said.

"We've already told him we haven't seen it," said Ron, but the girl wasn't listening, she was looking at the wand in his hand.

The girl ignored him however. "Harry, is that you?" Harry looked up suddenly and bright green eyes met hazel.

"Mione?"

The girl launched herself at Harry and all he saw was a blur of black and brown.

"Oh, Harry, I didn't know that you were going to be here. If I had, I would have told you."

Harry pulled back from his best friend and observed her, as he hadn't seen her all summer. She didn't seem any taller, but he did notice her lack of braces. He made note to bring it up later.

"No worries Hermione, I didn't exactly tell you much either. Wow, this it lucky." Hermione noticed suddenly that she'd interrupted something.

"Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see it, then."

She sat down. Ron looked taken aback.

"Er — all right."

He cleared his throat.

"Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow, Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow."

He waved his wand, but nothing happened. Scabbers stayed gray and fast asleep.

"Are you sure that's a real spell?" asked Rook.

"Well, it's not very good, is it?" started Hermione "I've tried a few simple spells just for practice and it's all worked for me. Nobody in my family's magic at all, it was ever such a surprise when I got my letter — let me stop," she added from the your-doing-it-again- look Harry had given her " I'm Hermione Granger, by the way, who are you?"

She said all this very fast.

"I'm Ron Weasley," Ron muttered.

"Mun-Hee," said Rook, not bothering to give his nickname.

"Do either of you know what house you'll be in? I'm sure that Harry's a shoe in for Gryffindor or Ravenclaw. I've been asking around, and I hope I'm in Gryffindor, it sounds by far the best; I hear Dumbledore himself was in it, but I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad…Anyway, we'd better go and look for Neville's toad. You three had better change, you know, I expect we'll be there soon, Harry do you mind if I join you later, I've been sitting all alone."

Harry nodded an affiramative.

And she left, taking the toadless boy with her.

"Thanks Harry, now we have to suffer through motor mouth there. Whatever house I'm in, I hope she's not in it," said Ron. He threw his wand back into his trunk. "Stupid spell — George gave it to me, bet he knew it was a dud."

"Hey Ron, Jeez, you could have a little respect. She is my friend." said Harry.

Ron blushed furiously, "Sorry mate.

"I thought you guys said that all the compartments were full? Hermione just said she was by herself."

"They were," said Rook, "Only hers wasn't filled with people, it was filled with her ego. Really, you need to assist her with that."

"I try my best," muttered Harry before turning the conversation away from Hermione bashing. "What house are your brothers in Ron, and what about your sister Rook?"

"Gryffindor," said Ron. Gloom seemed to be settling on him again. "Mom and Dad were in it, too. I don't know what they'll say if I'm not. I don't suppose Ravenclaw _would _be too bad, but imagine if they put me in Slytherin."

"That's the house Voldemort was in?"

"Yeah," said Ron. He flopped back into his seat, looking depressed.

"Hey, some of the people who are in Slytherin hate Voldemort, like my sister. Don't be a bigot."

"You know, I think the ends of Scabbers' whiskers are a bit lighter," said Harry, trying to take steer the conversation away from the eminent argument that was about to take place between the two boys. "So what do your oldest brothers do now that they've left, anyway?"

Harry was wondering what a wizard did once he'd finished school.

"Charlie's in Romania studying dragons, and Bill's in Africa doing something for Gringotts," said Ron. "Did you hear about Gringotts? It's been all over the _Daily Prophet_, but I don't suppose you get that with the Muggles — someone tried to rob a high security vault."

Harry stared.

"Yeah, I heard it was a big mess," said Rook

"Really? What happened to them?" asked Harry.

"Nothing, that's why it's such big news. They haven't been caught. My dad says it must've been a powerful Dark wizard to get round Gringotts, but they don't think they took anything, that's what's odd. 'Course, everyone gets scared when something like this happens in case You-Know-Who's behind it."

Harry turned this news over in his mind. He was starting to get a prickle of fear every time You-Know-Who was mentioned. He supposed this was all part of entering the magical world, but he was a lot more comfortable saying "Voldemort" without worrying.

"What's your Quidditch team?" Ron asked.

"The"

"Er — I don't know any." Harry confessed.

"What!" Ron looked dumbfounded. "Oh, you wait, it's the best game in the world —" And he was off, explaining all about the four balls and the positions of the seven players, describing famous games he'd been to with his brothers and the broomstick he'd like to get if he had the money. He was just taking Harry through the finer points of the game when the compartment door slid open yet again, but it wasn't Neville the toadless boy or Hermione Granger this time.

"Cousin,"

Three boys entered, and Harry recognized the middle one at once: Draco. He was looking at Harry with a lot more interest than he'd shown back in Diagon Alley.

"Cousin, you're the talk of the town these days." he said. "Making use of your infamy already"

"Hm, I wouldn't call it that, but if you say so…" said Harry. He was looking at the other boys. Both of them were thickset and looked extremely mean. Standing on either side of the pale boy, they looked like bodyguards.

"Oh, this is Crabbe and this is Goyle," said Draco carelessly, noticing where Harry was looking. "For those who don't know, my name's Malfoy, Draco Malfoy."

Ron gave a slight cough, which might have been hiding a snigger. Draco Malfoy looked at him.

"Think my name's funny, do you? No need to ask who you are. My father told me all the Weasleys have red hair, freckles, and more children than they can afford."

"Whoa Draco, that was too far. Calm it down or I'm going to ask you to leave," said Harry, having difficulty hold Ron back, even with Rook's help.

"Oh, my apologizes dear cousin. I just didn't know you associated with this sort. My mother told my not to antagonize, so I'll stop for the both of your sakes. Weasley, you've got dirty on your nose."

Ron sneered angrily and raised his hand to his nose to get the same spot that his mother had tried to clean. "Sit down and Calm down Ron." Ordered Harry, "Drake, I'll talk to you later, perhaps its best you go."

Draco nodded, "Very well Harry, I'll be seeing you around. Rook, Weasley."

He waved his hand motioning for the two larger boys to follow him. On their way out, Goyle reached toward the Chocolate Frogs next to Ron — Ron leapt forward, but before he'd so much as touched Goyle, Goyle let out a horrible yell.

Scabbers the rat was hanging off his finger, sharp little teeth sunk deep into Goyle's knuckle — Malfoy spun suddenly and was two feet short of getting knocked out of the window by Goyle's girth. Goyle swung Scabbers round and round, howling, and when Scabbers finally flew off and hit the window, he ran out, blubbering like a baby.

Draco rubbed his temple with his fingers and shot a look at Harry that said "Why"

Harry laughed and Draco smirked before he ran down the hall hollering for the crying boy.

Perhaps they thought there were more rats lurking among the sweets, or perhaps they'd heard footsteps, because a second later, Hermione Granger had come in.

"What _has _been going on?" she said, looking at the sweets all over the floor and Ron picking up Scabbers by his tail as she set her bag on the chair.

"I think he's been knocked out," Ron said to Harry. He looked closer at Scabbers. "No — I don't believe it — he's gone back to sleep."

And so he had.

"Can we help you with something?" he said suddenly and rather rudely to Hermione

"Harry said I could sit in here, remember." said Hermione before walking out again.

Harry stuck his head out of the cabin, "Where you goin'?"

"To change into my robes. You'd better hurry up and put yours on, too, I've just been up to the front to ask the conductor, and he says we're nearly there. You haven't been fighting, have you? You'll be in trouble before we even get there!"

"Scabbers has been fighting, not us," said Ron, scowling at her from over Harry's shoulder.

"You've got dirt on your nose, did you know?" said Hermione in a sniffy voice

Ron glared at her as she left. Harry peered out of the window. It was getting dark. He could see mountains and forests under a deep purple sky. The train did seem to be slowing down.

He and Ron took off their jackets and pulled on their long black robes. Ron's were a bit short for him; you could see his sneakers underneath them.

A voice echoed through the train: "We will be reaching Hogwarts in half an hour minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train; it will be taken to the school separately."

Hermione returned after the boy's had cleaned their mess. Scabbers was in a sleeping Ron's pocket and Rook sat nearer to the window reading a book in Korean and absentmindedly petting whatever was in the basket of his. Hermione sat carefully next to Ron, across from Harry as to no disturb the snoring boy.

"So give me the unedited version of how your mom reacted when she found out," said Hermione, leaning it. Harry told her every thing then had her tell him about how the Grangers had taken it.

"…didn't want me to come. A big fuss was made about whether or not I'd still be taking normal classes and the like. They were dead set about me going. I'll say it was one hell of an argument." She said, clicking her tongue. Rook looked up suddenly at her causal cursing, a curious look on his face before turning back to his book.

This went unnoticed by Hermione. She turned off the subject of her parents and on to her expectations of the school and how her holiday was. It wasn't a long, drawn out conversation, only touching on the finer points. Then Hermione was resting against the window, casually observing the other occupants of the compartment. Harry himself had fallen into a light rest, awaiting their arrival at Hogwarts.

* * *

A:N 2: Sorry it takes me so freaking long to update, but when your a teenage girl with a budding social life, it makes it quite difficult. I'm going to try my hardest to update when ever possible. Oh and if anyone could draw pictures of my characters for me, I'd love it. Just let me know. I'll provide celeb photos for you to base them off of.

R&R


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